General Comments by India on consideration of the Resolution on ‘Human Rights and Climate Change’at the 53rdSession of Human Rights Council (19 June - 14 July 2023) delivered byMs. Seema Pujani, First Secretary, Permanent Mission of India, Geneva, 12 July 2023
Thank you, Mr. President.
We thank the core group, especially Philippines as the pen holder, for their hard work in presenting this Resolution. We appreciate their efforts to engage constructively and widely with member States and other stakeholders to arrive at a balanced text, and the efforts to streamline and rationalize the Resolution’s outcomes.
Mr. President,
2. Climate change is the defining global challenge of our times.It is evident that nations which have contributed the least to the crisis are the ones suffering the most.
3. Recent IPCC reports establish that India, with more than 17% of the global population, has contributed only about 4% of the global cumulative greenhouse gas emissions between 1850 and 2019.Despite our huge developmental challenges, we are second to none when it comes to climate action and climate justice.
4. In August 2022, we updated our Nationally Determined Contribution, enhancing our target to reduce emissions by 45% from 2005 level, and achieving 50% cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources, by 2030. In November 2022, we submitted our Long-Term Low-Carbon Development Strategy.Apart from resolutely addressing climate change domestically, India has also launched international coalitions to enhance cooperation on climate issues, such asthe International SolarAlliance,the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure andthe Infrastructure for ResilientIsland States.
Mr. President,
5. The principles of Equityand Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities are the cornerstone of the discourse on climate change. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and its Paris Agreement, with a near-universal membership and where the voice of the world’s most climate vulnerable nations carries an equal weightas that of the world’s greatest emitters, is and should remain the principal multilateral forum for addressing issues pertaining to and arising from climate change. For this reason, we did not support the establishment of a separate mandate onclimate change by thisCouncil.
6. We are concerned about the discussions on climate change and attempts in this Council that appear to be motivated by a desire to undermine the UNFCCC framework and divert the world’s attention from an unwillingness to deliver where it counts.
7. We need to deal with climate change throughtransformative mitigation and adaptation. Scientific evidence overwhelmingly reveals that current global financial flows to tackle climate change adaptation and mitigation are highly insufficient, especially in developing countries.
Mr. President,
8. In this context, we find the focus of theResolution before us on loss and damageto be timely. This is an issue that has been neglected for far too long in climate change negotiations. After thirty years of the first demand for loss and damage funding by SIDS and after seven years of the Paris Agreement, COP27 is historic for the agreement reached and the decision taken on the establishment of a long-awaited loss and damage fund.
9. We appreciate the references to principles of Equity and CBDR-RC in the text that must be operationalized in Loss and Damage negotiations as well as to achieve climate justice for all. We are also pleased to see mention of the work of the Transitional Committee andtheoperationalization of the Santiago Network for Loss and Damage.
10. For these reasons, we will join consensus.
I thank you.
